Fear
by Song Of Eternity
Summary: Never run from your fear. If you show your fear, you strengthen it. If you run away from it, you give it the power to control you. Fear cannot be outrun. The only way to escape from fear is to destroy it completely! Mild SasuNaru fluff. No other warnings.


Hey guys, guess who?! It's Song! I'm back, and this time with a glorious oneshot! The whole PLOT thing just isn't my strong point, I guess. Also, it's my senior year of high school and I am BUSYBUSYBUSY. So writing is a novelty. But I can crank off a decent oneshot in two to three hours, so if you want requests, just ask me!!! As long as I know the pairing and aren't terrified it, I'll see what I can do! Here goes…

Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Sasuke. Lol.

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Ominous clouds darkened the horizon. Rumbling fiercely, they loomed threateningly over Konoha village. Down in the village, one boy sat trembling in a dark room.

Thunder rolled as the sky lit up. Down in the village, the little blonde boy yelped and cowered further into the corner of his closet, his blanket wrapped tightly around him.

Across town, another boy sat up. Blinking the gunk out his eyes, he sleepily looked out at the rain pattering on the windowpane. Languorously, he stretched, but then froze as a bolt of lightning struck. He shot up out of bed, pulled on a shirt and ran out of the empty house. His features blurred as he ran and in moments, the dark-haired boy disappeared into the night.

Naruto shivered violently. Though the reason was unclear, storms had always frightened him. For as long as he could remember, the merest hint of lightning had sent him scurrying for shelter. For any normal child, shelter would mean his mother's arms or his father's strong shoulders.

But Naruto had never known his parents, and no one else had ever cared whether he was afraid. So when the lightning came, Naruto was alone.

Suddenly, the closet door shook, the lock rattling loudly. Naruto whimpered and scooted further back into the shadows of the closet. The door rattled loudly once more, and Naruto dove under the blanket, pulling a kunai out of a box on one of the shelves. Cowering under the blanket, he held the trembling dagger before him.

Sasuke glared at the closet door. He knew Naruto was in there. He could sense the dobe's chakra. The thunder rolled again, and Sasuke heard a yelp from within the closet. With a sigh, Sasuke turned sideways and settled into a stance. Gathering his strength, he twisted his body…

And put his foot right through the solid oak door, which exploded into splinters.

Naruto shrieked and fell backwards onto the blanket. His kunai clattered to the floor. Sasuke stared in disbelief as the blonde cowered before him.

"Dobe?"

Naruto's head shot up. "Sa...Sasuke?" he sputtered. In an instant, Naruto was on his feet, trying to look casual, he leaned against the wall of the closet. "He… He… What are you doing here?"

Sasuke raised one eyebrow a fraction of an inch. "What are you doing in your closet at two in the morning?" he asked, as though he didn't already know.

Naruto chuckled nervously. "Oh, you know me… I was getting my pajamas out of the closet and locked myself in. Thanks for letting me out, by the way…" Naruto scratched his head awkwardly, grinning like a fool.

Sasuke's other eyebrow began a slow ascension toward his hairline. "Naruto… the lock's on the inside of the closet." He spared the blonde the embarrassment of answering as to why there was a lock on his closet in the first place.

Naruto's eyes narrowed. "Why are you here, anyway, Sasuke?" Gathering up his blanket, he shoved past the taller boy and plopped down on the bed. The blonde glared at the dark-haired boy, demanding an answer.

Sasuke sighed. It was worth a shot. "I'm… afraid of storms…" he lied.

Naruto flushed. "Oh, so that's it, then. You've come to laugh at me. Go on then, laugh." He glared at Sasuke, just as another bolt of lightning rushed past the window. Naruto jumped. Closing his eyes, the smaller boy struggled to control his frenzied breathing.

Sasuke groaned and sat on the bed next to Naruto. "Stop shivering, dobe." Naruto's eyes snapped open and he turned angrily towards Sasuke. He opened his mouth to retort, but Sasuke interrupted.

"You shouldn't be afraid of a storm. It can't really hurt you unless you're outside. Besides… I'm here…and… I'll..." he shifted awkwardly. "It just… it won't hurt you, ok?" he finished lamely.

Naruto's eyes widened. "Sasuke…" Suddenly, a particularly violent bolt of lightning lit the room. Naruto jumped up and tried to run to the closet, but Sasuke pulled him back. Arms wrapped firmly against Naruto's waist, Sasuke dragged him back towards the bed.

"Never run from your fear," Sasuke growled. "If you show your fear, you strengthen it. If you run away from it, you give it the power to control you. Fear cannot be outrun. The only way to escape from fear is to destroy it completely!"

Blushing, Naruto clutched the hands that held him. Gulping, he shakily retorted. "Sure, it's easy for you to say that! When was the last time you truly feared anything!?"

Sasuke's eyes softened. "When I was little, I was afraid a lot. I even cried, sometimes. My mother often held me in her arms when I was afraid of the shadows by my bed, and I was never afraid of robbers as long as my father was around, because I knew there was nothing stronger than my dad." Sasuke smiled.

Naruto's hands relaxed. He had never heard anything about Sasuke's parents, except that they were dead. Sakura complained about her mom all the time, not realizing she was the only one in the team who still had a mother… but…

Sasuke tensed. "I think all kids are scared sometimes. It's only natural. I was just a normal kid… I wanted to be a great ninja, just like my big brother. I wanted my father to acknowledge me, to respect my abilities…." Sasuke frowned. "But normal kids don't lose everything. On that day, I stopped being a normal kid. On that day, I lost everything… including my fear." He took a deep breath. "After that day, I was never afraid again. Because you see, what did I have left to be afraid of? The very worst thing that could happen to a person had already happened to me."

Another roll of thunder caused Naruto to tense; Sasuke tightened his arms comfortingly around him. Naruto flushed. "Sasuke, you…you can let go now."

Glancing down, Sasuke slowly released Naruto and stepped back, his face tinged pink. Why had he told the dobe all that? He'd never told anyone… had never even realized it himself. Ugh, now the idiot would pity him. He didn't need the dobe's pity. He didn't need anyone's pity!

Sasuke shot a glance at Naruto's face, expecting to see pity on his features. There was none. Instead, Naruto was swaying on the spot, a huge yawn threatening to dominate his face. Sasuke smirked.

"Go to bed, dobe. We have a mission tomorrow."

Naruto grinned. "Right." Climbing into bed, Naruto snuggled down under the covers, this time in comfort. "Say what you want, Sasuke, but I don't think I can stop being afraid of storms just like that… I've been afraid for so long…"

Sasuke stretched. "No one expects you to stop being afraid in one day, idiot. But as long as you don't run away, your fear will never control you. Good night," he said, heading for the door.

Lightning flashed. "Sasuke!" Naruto yelped.

Sasuke winced and slowly turned around. "What, Naruto?"

Naruto flushed. "Can…um…can you stay here?" he mumbled.

Sasuke frowned. "Fine," he mumbled, making himself comfortable. Stealing one of Naruto's pillows, he lay on top of the covers and closed his eyes. "Happy?"

"Yeah…thanks, Naruto mumbled as his eyes drifted closed.

Sasuke looked at the sleeping blonde and smiled. Turning toward the boy, he settled into the bed. Closing his eyes once more, Sasuke followed Naruto into a deep, peaceful sleep.

Somewhere outside the window, thunder rolled and the lightning crashed. Somewhere out there, a murdering brother still lived.

But the two boys slept on.

They were no longer alone.

They were no longer afraid.


End file.
